In this Section:
1. Brief Table of Contents

2. Full Table of Contents

1. BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Chapter 1: Thinking about Relgion

Chapter 2: Talking about Religion

Chapter 3: Hinduism: The Eternal Law

Chapter 4: Hinduism: Law and Life

Chapter 5: Buddhism: Becoming Awake

Chapter 6: Buddhism: Awakening the World

Chapter 7: East Asian Sacred Ways: The Eternal Dao

Chapter 8: East Asian Sacred Ways: Harmony in the World

Chpater 9: Judaism: A Chosen People Choosing God

Chapter 10: Judaism: Israel in the Diaspora

Chapter 11: Christianity: The God-Man Messiah

Chapter 12: Christianity: Communion and Community

Chapter 13: Islam: Submission and Faith

Chapter 14: Islam: The Pillars and the Umma

Chapter 15: Religions of Place: A Sacred World Around Us

Chapter 16: New Religions: A Quest for the Sacred

2. FULL TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Chapter 1: Thinking About Religion

Religion as a Field of Study

Asking Questions about Religion

The Four Questions

Is There a God?

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?

How Does the Sacred Become Community?

Do You Have Other Questions?

Critical Thinking with THINK World Religions

The Visual Summary

Doing Research on Religions

Creating a Question Matrix

Important Parts of the Book

Chapter 2: Talking about Religion

Steeler Nation or Church of the Steelers?

Can We Describe Steeler Nation as a Religion?

Characteristics of Religions

Why Is Religion so Difficult to Talk About?

The Steeler Nation

Strategies for Studying World Religions

The Big Question: Is Religion True or False?

What Is Truth?

THINK World Religions: Truthfulness vs. “Truthiness”

Can There Be More Than One Truth?

THINK World Religions: Pontius Pilate: “What Is Truth?”

Back to Steeler Nation

Visual Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 3: Hinduism: The Eternal Law

A Sacred Place: A Hindu Temple

Is There a God in Hinduism?

Dharma

Sacred Texts and Traditions

A Sacred Action: The Puja

Brahman: Source of All Divinity

Three Main Gods of Hinduism

THINK World Religions: Beliefs and Science

Primary Gods: A Closer Look

Rocks, Rivers, and Animals

What Does it Mean to Be Human?

The Caste System

THINK World Religions: The Story of Purusha from the Rig-veda

Human Beings: Out of Touch with Brahman

Dharma and Karma

Internal Conflict: Cows and Hinduism

Moksha: Breaking the Cycle

Chapter Review

Chapter 4: Hinduism: Law and Life

A Place in the World: The Bharatiya Temple

How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?

The Path of Works: Sacrifice, Purity, and Ritual

Internal Conflict: Ahimsa and Social Movements

The Path of Devotion: Bhakti

The Yogic Paths of Knowledge

How Does the Sacred Become Community?

Religion and the Family

Hindu Views of Death

THINK World Religions: Sati: Ritual Widow Burning

Sanatana Dharma and the Caste System

Religion + Gender: Women in Hinduism

Contemporary Religions Issues: Gandhi, Hinduism, and Politics

Conclusion

Visual Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 5: Buddhism: Becoming Awake

A Sacred Place: The Fogong Si Temple

Is There a God?

God or Gods in Buddhism: No, Yes, and Maybe

A Sacred Action: Alms-Giving

The Life of the Buddha

THINK World Religions: Some Sanskrit and Pali Equivalent Terms in Buddhism

Principles of Buddhism

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

The Eightfold Path

THINK World Religions: A U.S. Army Chaplain Who Is a Buddhist

The Human Condition in Theravada and Mahayana Traditions

THINK World Religions: King Ashoka and the Spread of Buddhism

Internal Conflict: Buddhism and Gender

Chapter Review

Chapter 6: Buddhism: Awakening the World

A Place in the World: Protests in Myanmar

How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?

The First Jewel: Taking Refuge in the Buddha

THINK World Religions: Secret Tantric Practice

The Second Jewel: Taking Refuge in the Dharma

Religion + Health: Mind Over Body

How Does the Sacred Become Community?

Monastic Life

Monastery and Laity: Tibetan Buddhism

Buddhism Without a Monastic Sangha: Buddhism Comes to the West

Contemporary Religious Issues: Tibet and China

Conclusion

Visual Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 7: East Asian Sacred Ways: The Eternal Dao

A Sacred Place: Chang Ling

Is There a God?

Dao, Qi, and Yin/Yang

A Sacred Action: Tai Chi

The Yijing (I Ching)

Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism: Syncretic Traditions in East Asia

THINK World Religions: The Analects

Buddhism in East Asia

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

The Confucian View of Humanity

The Daoist View of Humanity

Internal Conflict: Legalism

THINK World Religions: The Immortals

Chapter Review

Chapter 8: East Asian Sacred Ways: Harmony in the World

A Place in the World: Lion Dance in New York’s Chinatown

How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?

Veneration of Confucius

Interacting with the Dao through Qi

Contemporary Religious Issues: Falun Gong

Religion + Medicine: Acupuncture

How Does the Sacred Become Community?

Confucianism

THINK World Religions: What’s in a Name?

Daoism

Community in East Asian Buddhist Traditions

THINK World Religions: Chairman Mao and the People’s Republic

Conclusion

Visual Summary

Chapter Review

Chpater 9: Judaism: A Chosen People Choosing God

A Sacred Place: The Central Synagogue

What Is Judaism?

A Sacred Action: Bar and Bat Mitzvah

Is There a God?

Proof of God

Definition of God

The Name of God

How Does God Communicate with Us?

THINK World Religions: Where Are the Pictures?

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

“In the Beginning”

The Human Condition: Abraham, Isaac, and Becoming a Chosen People

THINK World Religions: Jews, Israel, or Children of Israel: Which Term Is Correct?

The Commandments: Words and Deeds

History and Meaning: Cycles of Sin and Redemption

THINK World Religions: What Happens after We Die?

THINK World Religions: A Psalm of Hope and Longing

Chapter Review

Chapter 10: Judaism: Israel in the Diaspora

A Place in the World: The Eruv

How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?

Prayer

Following the Commandments: The Example of Food

Religion + Education: The Importance of Education in Judaism

THINK World Religions: Deuteronomy 14:1–21

Mystical Judaism and the Kabbalah

How Does the Sacred Become Community?

Calendar and Life Cycle Rituals

Denominations in American Judaism

Judaism in the Modern World

THINK World Religions: Reconstructionist Judaism

Contemporary Religious Issues: Holocaust Denial

Conclusion

Visual Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 11: Christianity: The God-Man Messiah

A Sacred Place: St. Stephen’s of Walbrook

The Messiah: Jesus Christ

Is There a God?

A Sacred Action: Liturgy and Eucharist

THINK World Religions: Paul’s Mystical Experience

THINK World Religions: Varieties of Early Christianity

Seeking God in the Early Christian Church

THINK World Religions: Christianity and Popular Culture: The DaVinci Code

The Problem with the Holy Trinity

THINK World Religions: Don’t Understand the Holy Trinity? Try These Techniques!

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

Christian Confessions

Internal Conflict: Good Nature but Evil Deeds? 1

What Happens When Human Beings Die? Christian Ideas of Heaven and Hell

Christianity + Literature: Dostoevsky, On Hell

Internal Conflict: Christianity and Evolution

Chapter Review

Chapter 12: Christianity: Communion and Community

A Place in the World: Mother Teresa of Calcutta

How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?

What’s in a Name? Churches, Denominations, and Communities

THINK World Religions: Justin Martyr Describes Christian Interaction with the Sacred

The Eucharist: An Ancient Christian Form of Communion with God

Prayer: Personal and Communal Interaction with the Sacred

THINK World Religions: Music and Prayer

Contemplation and Quiet as Forms of Interaction with the Sacred

THINK World Religions: Spiritual Double Clicking

Finding a Direct Link to God: The Charismatic Movement

How Does the Sacred Become Community?

Monasticism

Calendars, Rituals and Community Celebrations

Communal Worship and Identity

Christians in the World

Religion + Politics in the USA: The Religious Right

Conclusion

Visual Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 13: Islam: Submission and Faith

A Sacred Place: Selimiye Mosque, Turkey

Is There a God?

The “Glorious Qur’an”

A Sacred Action: Sandys Travailes

God and the Kaaba

THINK World Religions: “Allah” or “God”?

Comprehending God in Islam

Religion + People of the Book: Judaism and Christianity in the Qur’an

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

Muhammad’s Biography

Islam After Muhammad’s Death

Women in Islam

THINK World Religions: Behind the Veil: Why Islam’s Most Visible Symbol Is Spreading

The Sira, Sunna, and Hadith

Religion + Secular Literature: The Fatwa of Salman Rushdie

What Happens after Humans Die?

Chapter Review

Chapter 14: Islam: The Pillars and the Umma

A Place in the World: Mecca

How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?

Shahada: Witnessing and Professing Faith in God

The Shia Shahada: Purity and Fidelity

THINK World Religion: Message to the Blackman in America by Elijah Muhammad

Interacting with the Divine through Prayer: The Second Pillar of Islam

Interacting with God through Food and Fasting: The Third Pillar of Islam

THINK World Religions: Islam and Ritual Purity

Sufism: Mystical Interaction with the Sacred

Religion + Poetry: The Poet Rumi

THINK World Religions: The Intoxication of Qalandar

How Does the Sacred Become Community?

Giving to the Poor: The Fourth Pillar of Islam

The Hajj: The Fifth Pillar of Islam

Jihad in a Modern World?

Conclusion

Visual Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 15: Religions of Place: A Sacred World Around Us

A Sacred Place: The Tipi

Is There a God?

A Sacred Action: Black Elk’s Vision

THINK World Religions: Glooskap the Divinity

The Medicine Wheel

THINK World Religions: Sacred Land and Sacred Power Across the Globe

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred? How Does the Sacred Become Community?

Sacred Words

From Words to Steps: The Vision Quest

Steps Become Ritual: The Sun Dance

American Indian Spirituality Meets Christian Spirituality: Is God Red or White?

Breaking the Sacred Bonds of the Land: Native Americans and the U.S. Government

Thinking About Indigenous World Religions

THINK World Religions: Casinos and Native American Life

Conclusion

Visual Summary

Chapter Review

Chapter 16: New Religions: A Quest for the Sacred

A Sacred Place: Stonehenge

A Sacred Action: The Blessing Ceremony

Defining the New Religious Movements

Is There a God?

A New Path for Christianity: The Unification Movement

Wicca and the New Age: Ancient Magick for a Modern Era

Religion + Violence: New Religious Movements + Violence 5 Cults?

Religion + The Supernatural: UFOlogy

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

Unificationism

Wicca and the New Age

How Do Humans Interact with the Sacred?

Unificationism

Wicca and the New Age

How Does the Sacred Become Community?

Unificationism

Wicca and the New Age

Community and Celebrity in the New Age

Religion + Controversy: Religious Pluralism

Conclusion: Thinking about New Religious Movements

Visual Summary

Chapter Review

THINK World Religions, 2nd edition

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